Ventura Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was our first cruise with a sea view only cabin as we have always had a balcony cabin previously. As we left Southampton in mid March the weather wasn’t too great so we didn’t miss having a balcony until we got to our first port of Madeira. Overall I feel that if the price difference isn’t too great I would prefer a balcony cabin, although our cabin size was fine.

We liked it so much we’re going again next year !!!

Enjoyed the cruise great service very clean professional friendly staff ... the only surprise and disappointment was the food both in the buffet and main dining rooms ... I think skimped on quality ingredients... no bananas ... little choice of cheese

Was apprehensive about being a family ship but with only 178 under 18's on board - apart from a couple of them being a nuisance - it was a great experience.

P&O need to cater for a younger generation, so to keep their future clientele, most if not all of the entertainment and activities was set in the 50's & 60's, newer modern entertainment and activities for the 20 to 50 year old set for 80's & 00's required, not the 70. Staff excellent however not much can be said for the majority of passengers with their comments and attitudes with lack of manners to staff and fellow passengers. This cruise was more Saga than P&O.

Wasn’t impressed wth the Canaries. Lack of historic interest. Ship very nice. Balcony cabin with larger balcony good. Food ok but repetitive. But if a bumpy few days at sea on this occasion. Same old stuff on ship shops. Activities during day a tad uninteresting for us. Seems to be a gap in what they can provide for younger guests - as in 25-60. Although we had a nice time we didn’t enjoy this cruise as we have the others we’ve been on.

Went on 3 night mini cruise, loved the ship. All the staff were fabulous especially Edward in the cinnamon restaurant who went above and beyond for our table. Buffet was good, although preferred the mid ship buffets as the ones at aft were very cramped and they let people in from both sides and people clash in the middle. Only one downside for us was The Beach House restaurant, our main meal was cold and inedible, we passed on this info at the time but nothing came of it. Over all the ship was fantastic, shows were amazing especially Astonishing. Wish there were more Christmas style photos taken on black tie night as would of loved one by the big tree but the only way to get one by the tree was straight after boarding, but we took our own pics by the tree. Will definitely love to go back on Ventura

Just back from a 3 night mini-cruise on Ventura. Enjoyable time, lots of big groups and parties onboard - understandably - but it wasn't at all rowdy that I noticed and was actually a really nice atmosphere. The ship itself surprised me. I haven't sailed on her since 2012 and it almost seemed a different ship. A lot of the venues felt fresh and modern. In particular, the Metropolitan Bar and Havana Bar had really nice modern decors. The cabin, a superior deluxe balcony on deck 9, had slightly dated fixtures and fittings but was perfectly comfortable, well appointed and generally in a good condition. Certainly compared to the basic balcony cabin I'd experienced first time around, I'd say the extra space, including sofa, bigger balcony, full sized bath and little perks like bathrobe, slippers, champagne and chocolates, we're well worth the extra fare. The only downside for me was the buffet. Some of the serving stations, especially at the very aft end of the Waterside Cafe are very cramped and at busy times can be very frustrating. The food was ok and was a fairly typical selection. I personally found the puddings all lacked any real taste and we're bland though. The Beach House is a good value specialty restaurant located at the aft end of the buffet area in the evenings only. There is a small cover charge and some dishes such as the lava stone fillet steak attract another small fee on top, but it is well worth it. Staff were all very friendly and efficient. The entertainment was par for the course including a musicals themed show and a guest comedian. The highlight though was 'Astonishing', a new singing, dancing, illusion theatre show. It was quite spectacular and modern (if you ignore the two cringe inducing old style cruise show songs in it!). On the whole this short break on Ventura was really enjoyable and I'd have no issues booking a longer cruise on Ventura. Despite her age, P&O have done a good job refreshing and modernising her to a point where she compares admirably with the youngest in the fleet, Britannia.

We loved our cruise overall. However the ship has a lot of decor snaggings that need attention. Tiles missing in the pool, cracks around the edges, damage inside the lifts including areas taped up, ripped seats in the havannah, dirty stained chairs in the buffet area, there was a dint in the wall on the corridor to our room. We found the starters in the main restaurant (bay tree) often resembled and in some cases tasted like pet food. We preffered the buffet food. We dined in Sindhu and that was amazing. However when approached to book a table we were told there was an offer available but werent told this was only at selected times and when we had to reschedule we didn't get the offer. We had to ask our room attended for shampoo, conditioner and toilet roll more than once even though he had been in our room every day twice a day, they weren't refilled when running low. I have cruised several times before and had made a big deal to my partner (who has never cruised) about how you feel like royalty and how everything on cruises is 5* but I'd rate it a lot less in comparison to other ships i have been on. Including another P&O.

Home from 11 nights on Ventura doing the Med/Gib/Lisbon. Weather was a bit crazy but not utterly terrible and Cartagena was stunning. I got such a vibe from the place and fell in love with it. Met some truly great people (Phil and Mike) who made my holiday better in every way. Food was top notch. I ate in The Beach House and Sindhu. Well worth the extra spend. The downside was that deck 14 stunk! The smell was awful. Toilet smell (being polite). I’ve written to P&O about this. It was a case of ‘hold your nose and run,’ which is what I did! I love Ventura. She’s a great ship and I’ll be going on her again soon but P&O really have to sort the smell out! Quickly. Big love

A short trip to zeebee and back. Good as a short break!

We were in a large group and everyone had a great time. Fun from start to finish. Queen tribute was great for entertainment on a short cruise. Good range of bars and efficient staff in venues. Would definitely go on the ship again but maybe 7 nights at max and a port intensive itinerary. Prefer the bigger and newer ships with more options and things to do onboard. We found the food in main dining rooms very good overall and most went for the celebrity chef menu which is a nice edition to the menu offering.

A very nice mini cruise (2 nights) to Zeebrugge. Instead of going into Bruges (which we have visited several times before) we took the free shuttle bus from the ship to the seaside town of Blankenberge, which was well worth a visit. The onboard entertainment was excellent. Would recommend to others.

Lovely mini cruise. Ventura needs a good refit, cabins seem are very dated. Good food and great service.

The magic show called Astonishing was absolutely amazing! Dancers were superb as were the illusions and audience participation card trick. Highly recommend.

Best kids club. It sails out of Britain. Apart from these I would probably go with a different cruise line.

Great cruise lovely staff delicious food service with a smile

Loved it all from start to finish , a few concerns regarding H&S as no lifeguards and some parents not watching the children who were running and jumping in the pool - accident waiting to happen, and it did on this cruise, saying that I thought the ship was very clean and the staff are so happy and never seem to stop, always happy and busy. Excursions we went on were fantastic! Food on board was lovely and plentiful, hence bigger clothes when we got home lol. Loved it that much we booked again for next year on the same ship

Just come back from a great week on Ventura around Spain and France. It’s my third time on this ship and it’s as good as ever. Roll on July for the Britannia

I absolutely loved the cruise, I have not got any bad points about the whole experience, Ventura and its crew are amazing, the staff would do anything for you, so hard working and informative, the food was so fresh all cooked in front of you, some of the on board restaurants you could pay a surcharge but for fine dining it's all worth it, the cleaners are very informative and friendly, rooms cleaned thoroughly twice a day, the ship is cleaned every night the pools are emptied and cleaned after each cruise, the ship is maintained and painted 24 hours a day, I have enjoyed the experience that much I have re-booked to go on another cruise whilst on board.